After the long dry spell due to Corona, the economy at Vienna Airport is on the up again. As announced by by far the largest Austrian airport on Wednesday, the net profit in 2022 was a good 128 million euros, a multiple of the previous year’s figure of 6.6 million. The rebound in business also meant that sales increased by 70 percent to 692.7 million euros.
“The airport is back to its usual strength,” said Board Member Günther Ofner at the presentation of the preliminary balance sheet. A dividend of 77 cents per share is now to be paid for 2022 – a total of 65 million euros. Previously, the shareholders of the listed infrastructure company had gone three years empty handed.
Major construction projects such as the southern extension of Terminal 3 (formerly Skylink) have again come into focus. The airport, which was recently debt-free, can handle this with its own resources, which also applies to the third runway. “We have the economic strength to implement such projects,” says Ofner. Without the third runway, the airport will have to invest 2.5 to 3 billion euros over the next ten years. The Supervisory Board will discuss this at the end of March.
However, a decision on the third runway, which has been hotly debated in the past, will only be made in the next few years – as soon as it is clear that it is needed and also makes economic sense. The project was put on hold due to the pandemic. Ofner and his board colleague Julian Jäger assume that the construction of an additional runway will be an issue again if the positive trend in passengers and flight movements continues.
Significant passenger growth in sight
In any case, the airport bosses also expect strong passenger growth for this year. For the Vienna location, they expect a volume of 26 to 27 million air travelers (previous year: 23.7 million), for the entire group (with the two regional airports Malta and Kosice) one of 32 to 34 million. Ofner and Jäger also see sales increasing to 830 million euros and net profit to more than 150 million in the current year. In addition, the board of directors also hold out the prospect of a higher dividend.
“The desire to travel is unbroken,” reported Jäger, referring to the bookings reported by the airlines. And that despite high inflation and increased ticket prices. The pandemic has changed the business, says Jäger. Business trips – such as short-haul trips in German-speaking countries – have become less important, while vacation travel has recovered more quickly, leading to greater fluctuations in passenger numbers. There is a lot more going on at weekends and in summer than at other times. (kle)
